Potassium permanganate and other bleaching or oxidizing agents have been encapsulated or adsorbed on support materials or embedded in formed bodies. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,535,262, 4,279,764, 4,460,490, 4,665,782, 4,657,784, and 4,711,748. German Patent 2,311,964 describes the preparation of a product for decontaminating radioactive waste containing manganese dioxide (MnO.sub.2) in Plaster of Paris (gypsum). A slurry is formed from manganese sulfate (MnSO.sub.4) and potassium permanganate (KMnO.sub.4) and gypsum which is cast into blocks. The MnSO.sub.4 and KMnO.sub.4 react in the slurry to form the MnO.sub.2, which is dispersed throughout the gypsum mass and removed radionuclides by adsorption.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,213 describes the impregnation of pumice granules or other absorbent material with an aqueous solution of a bleaching agent such as sodium hypochlorite. Permanganate bleaching agents are not specifically disclosed. The liquid bleaching agent is held in the capillary passages of the natural pumice. In use, the liquid bleaching agent is transferred from the interior of the granules to a substrate contacted by the granules, such as denim fabrics being bleached by contact with the granules in a tumbling operation.